Jonathan Ellsworth

Glen Morden has an extremely cool job — he’s the head of Product Innovation at Patagonia.

Glen Morden, Patagonia’s VP of Product Innovation

So we talk to Glen about his background and how he ended up in this position, then Glen pulls back the curtain on the product design process at Patagonia, what he and his colleagues are currently most concerned with, and what sorts of projects are on the horizon. So if you are interested in product design, new gear, or how innovation happens, you’re going to enjoy this conversation.

TOPICS & TIMES:

As the “VP of Product Innovation at Patagonia” … what do you actually do? (1:01)

Glen’s background (4:10)

What was your formal education like? (7:14)

When & how did you start working at Patagonia? (18:29)

What is the design process like at Patagonia, and what are the various departments & teams? (22:42)

Impact reduction and product design (28:30)

What are your favorite products that you’ve worked on? (36:18)

What areas in apparel design do you see the most potential for improvement? (40:33)

Working with Patagonia’s athletes and ambassadors (44:56)

We love soft shells, so why have they struggled to catch on? (47:11)

Sam Shaheen’s nerd question (52:04)

How much time is spent on impact reduction, or developing new technologies? (55:55)